Community Partnerships

SJI partners with the U.S. Army through the Partnership for Youth Success (PaYS) Program to provide U.S. Army youth and veterans with an opportunity to serve their country while they prepare for their future. Through the PaYS Program, SJI guarantees soldiers an interview and possible employment after the Army.

In partnership with the Red Cross, SJI’s Veterans Engagement Team (VETS) collected nearly 3,800 lbs. of food during their food drive by setting up collection points throughout New Jersey over February 27-28. VETS encouraged customers, employees and families from SJI’s subsidiaries, South Jersey Gas and Elizabethtown Gas, to drop off non-perishable items. Volunteers then delivered several truckloads of food to the Red Cross for distribution at the Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst.

VETS is an employee resource group at SJI that supports the personal growth and professional development of former servicemen and women. The Red Cross Service to Armed Forces program provides home comforts and critical services on bases, in military hospitals and supports military families during deployments and emergencies.

The American Heart Association’s (AHA) Heart Walk is an annual fundraising event to support heart disease and stroke research. In 2021, over 100 SJI employees rallied behind the AHA as they continued their annual Spring Heart Walk virtually. Together, our employees raised over $50,000 to support the AHA’s mission.
 

Each year, SJI demonstrates our core value of “community” with our Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service. In 2022, SJI celebrated its fifth annual MLK Day of Service and honored Dr. King by participating in Stockton University’s Annual Day of Service and serving our communities through virtual and socially-distanced events sponsored by Jersey Cares, the Community Food Bank of New Jersey, Newark YMCA and more.

Learn more about SJI’s 2022 MLK Day of Service
 

In partnership with the Mark Cuban Foundation and the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs, SJI hosted an Artificial Intelligence (AI) Bootcamp for local high school students at the South Jersey Gas headquarters, marking the first time that the program was conducted in the area. The AI Bootcamp enables high school students to increase AI literacy and understanding over the course of four half-day sessions. Each session included a guest speaker Q&A discussion, interactive lessons on topics such as machine learning and chatbots and a lab exercise facilitated by ThoughtSpot and SJI’s staff.

Learn more about the MCF AI Bootcamp

 

The Nature Conservancy New JerseyElizabethtown Gas regularly provides critical funding and volunteer support to The Nature Conservancy New Jersey (TNC), our state’s chapter of the global environmental nonprofit working to create a world where people and nature can thrive. Elizabethtown Gas recently provided $5,000 in support of TNC’s Cities Program in Elizabeth, NJ. The program, also referred to as the “Greening Cities – Tiny Forest Project” includes a series of environmental projects in the utility’s service territory that increase the community’s access to nature. Elizabethtown Gas also partners with The Nature Conservancy (TNC) to help protect and preserve trees planted along Paulins Kill in Blairstown, NJ, as part of the organization’s TNC For Trees initiative. Since the program’s inception, nearly 58,000 trees have been planted in the Paulins Kill region of New Jersey.